SMITH COLLEGE 



5416 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



presented with the more desirable rectory of 

 Combe-Florey, and from 1831 until his death 

 he was connected with Saint Paul's, London. 



Notable among his writings are the Letters 

 on the Subject oj the Catholics, which helped 

 to secure Roman Catholic emancipation. 

 Smith's humor is powerful, yet always good- 

 natured. The following quotations will give 

 some slight idea of his manner and the whim- 

 sical quality of his humor: 



Looked as if she had walked straight out of 

 the Ark. 



My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the 

 way, that it was actually twelve miles from a 

 l^mon. 



It is not more than a week ago that I heard 

 him speak disrespectfully of the equator. 



SMITH COLLEGE, a prominent college for 

 women, founded at Northampton, Mass., by 

 Miss Sophia Smith. It received a charter in 

 1871, and class sessions began in 1875. The an- 

 nual student enrolment at the present time is 

 over 1,800, and the faculty numbers about 165. 

 Smith College gives the usual courses leading 

 to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and confers 

 also on postgraduate students the degree of 

 Master of Arts. Among the college buildings 

 are the library, with 60,000 volumes, an ob- 

 servatory, a plant house with well-equipped 

 botanical collections, an art gallery and a hall 

 containing an auditorium seating 2,300. The 

 college aids in the support of science work at 

 Naples, and contributes to the support of the 

 classical schools at Rome and at Athens. The 

 buildings and grounds are valued at nearly 

 $2,000,000. 



SMITHS FALLS , a town in Lanark County, 

 Ontario. It is situated on the Rideau Canal, 

 on the Canadian Northern Railway and on two 

 lines of the Canadian Pacific Railway. By rail 

 it is twenty-eight miles northwest of Brockville, 

 forty-two miles southwest of Ottawa, 128 miles 

 west of Montreal and 212 miles east of Toronto. 

 It is a flourishing manufacturing center, espe- 

 cially noteworthy among its products being 

 agricultural implements, stoves, woolen goods 

 and flour. Smiths Falls has a collegiate insti- 

 tute. Population in 1911, 6,370; in 1916, esti- 

 mated. 6,600. 



SMITHSO'NIAN INSTITUTION, an insti- 

 tution established at Washington, D. C., in 1846 

 for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge 

 among men," as stated by its founder. It owes 

 its existence to the generous bequest of an 

 Englishman, James Smithson, who left over 

 $515,000 to the United States government for 

 the purpose. 



Congress accepted the legacy and established 

 the Institution by an act approved August 16, 

 1846. The first secretary, Joseph Henry, out- 

 lined a broad and general policy of administra- 

 tion, to which later secretaries have adhered 

 (see HENRY, JOSEPH). The Institution has jus- 

 tified the intentions of its founder by encour- 

 aging original research in science and litera- 

 ture ; by publishing the results of such research, 

 and by promoting a freer interchange of ideas 

 among leading men of science and scholars 

 throughout the world. Subsequent gifts and 

 appropriations of public money have increased 

 the scope of its activity. In addition to a Bu- 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 

 Founded by a subject of Great Britain who 

 never set foot on American soil. 



reau of Exchange, which facilitates intercourse 

 among students in all countries, the Institution 

 comprises a Bureau of American Ethnology, the 

 National Museum (see NATIONAL MUSEUM OF 

 THE UNITED STATEs),the Astrophysical Observa- 

 tory, the Langley Aerodynamical Laboratory 

 and the National Zoological Park. 



The Institution is legally an establishment 

 having as its members the President of the 

 United States, the Vice-President, the members 

 of the Cabinet, and the Chief Justice ; it is gov- 

 erned by a board of regents composed of the 

 Vice-President, the Chief Justice, three mem- 

 bers of the Senate, three members of the House 

 of Representatives and six citizens selected by 

 Congress. The Secretary, who is chosen by the 

 regents, is the executive officer. 



James Smithson (1765-1829), who founded 

 the Institution, was the son of Hugh Smith- 

 son, first Duke of Northumberland. He was 

 educated at Oxford, specializing in chemistry 

 and mineralogy, and later achieved considera- 

 ble distinction and received election as a vice- 

 president of the Royal Society. In regard to 

 his gift to the United States he wrote: "My 

 name shall live in the memory of man when 



